Southwark Council’s refusal to co-operate with the government’s Low Traffic Neighbourhood (LTN) review is understandable but, at the same time, local campaigners are right to question the legitimacy of the controversial traffic schemes.
The manner in which Rishi Sunak has called for a nationwide survey of LTNs, which aim to establish whether they have local people’s consent, does suggest political posturing is at play. Councils appear to have been given just two weeks to fill out these voluntary questionnaires. Surely, if the government was serious about investigating LTNs’ legitimacy, it would have not only made these questionnaires compulsory but also have given councils more time to complete them?
On the other hand, campaigners are justified in arguing that these schemes were forced upon them. They were rushed out during the pandemic, when people were locked up indoors, and many residents complain the schemes are isolating, inconvenient and increase pollution on boundary roads. If the government is serious about its LTN review, it should be decisive in how it is carried out, and give local authorities the time they need to participate.
Southwark Council ‘refuses’ to complete government’s ‘optional’ LTN survey ahead of national review